Of Glorious Lives and Obituaries
by Heptagon
Summary: No matter how glorious your life has been or would be, at one point it ends, unless you have a couple of Horcruxes hidden somewhere, but even that might not be enough. Each short chapter is a separate story.
1. Gregory Goyle

**Disclaimer: **All the characters, places and other stuff from Harry Potter is not mine.

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**Of Glorious Lives and Obituaries**

**Of Dementors and Tortoises**

When Greg was a little boy he had got himself a pet tortoise. He had named it Caramel after his favourite confectionery, but called it Cara for short. He took care of it and considered Cara his best friend. Greg had had other pets before as well, but then it had always ended up bad for both the boy and the animal, since one way or another, he had managed to sit or step upon them and then they were all flat and motionless. But his Dad had put a special Strengthening Charm on Cara's shell that would withstand Greg's weight should he accidentally step or sit on it. And the Charm held.

Coming to Hogwarts, Greg had left Cara because only cats, owls, and toads were allowed there. But every time he went home for Christmas Holidays or Summer Break, he had a happy reunion with it, and he would talk to it about all the things that had happened to him while he was away, and he always got the feeling that Cara was not only listening, but also understanding. Not even his best friend Vinny did that, but then Greg did care for Cara a lot more than he did for Vinny.

The Dementors, though now apparently on Lord Voldemort's side, didn't pick their victims according to allegiance – they had been reported to attack Death Eaters as well. And that's why Gregory Goyle was prepared when he met three of them one day. Directing his wand, he cast a perfect Patronus, thinking about Cara and candies.

His Patronus was a tortoise and by the time it reached the Dementors, it was already too late.

**_The end._**

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_A/N:** So, the basic idea is that I'm going to kill off all the (lesser) characters. Next one will be Cho, for my beta, but after that... well, you tell me. :P


	2. Cho Chang

**Disclaimer: **If they were mine, it would be rather silly to kill them all off. But they aren't, and I can do evil things to them. Muahahahahaa!**  
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**Of Glorious Lives and Obituaries**

**_Of Mirrors and Futures_**

"Aren't you a pretty girl!" the mirror had exclaimed at her on her first night at Hogwarts.

At home her mother had always told her that, and hearing it here made her feel warm and welcomed, but also alone and homesick. But being the pretty and kind girl she was, Cho quickly made friends and didn't feel alone anymore.

But life was not the fairy tale she had not so much expected but still hoped it would be. The boy she truly considered her love of life and future husband was taken away from her so viciously. At that time she had vowed never to fall in love again.

"You are a lovely girl – not only pretty but with a good heart as well," the mirror had comforted her. "You will find happiness again, you deserve it."

And the mirror had been correct. She did get over the loss of her first crush, and was happy once again. She had her friends and she had her boyfriends, and even though it never worked out the way she wished, Cho didn't give up her hope to be happy one day.

All through the war and the times of darkness, she clung to her hope and her faith, and every time another of her friends died, she clung to it even more desperately. And then, when she felt her fingers slipping and all her hope and faith slowly pouring away from her, when she felt she couldn't hold on to it any more, when she felt she had no more strength left… then the war had ended.

Things didn't get right at the second it happened, and not by themselves. Those still alive had to work for a better future, fight for it again and again. But they did their best and built up a new world for themselves and their children.

And in the end, after years of fighting and waiting, Cho had finally found her happiness. She had found a man who loved her and whom she loved and now they were engaged to be married.

In fact, instead of staring into the mirror she should have been packing. He had asked her to move in with him, and she had accepted. No more loneliness. Good things come to those who wait, and she had waited enough. Now it was time for her bright future and happily ever after.

She smiled to the mirror. It was a gift from her fiance, who knew that the reason she kept staring into mirrors the better part of day was not because she was a narcissistic self-admirer. She might be a pretty girl, but the real reason was that mirrors always comforted her.

Mirrors reflected things. They gave them back to those who looked just the way they were. The perspective was a bit changed, but the essence of the thing was still same. Mirrors didn't lie. Mirrors told the truth.

Drawing out her wand, she cast the Levitating spell to move it to her other things. This mirror she was taking with her, this mirror she would never leave behind. For this mirror would tell her she was happy, for the rest of her life.

"You're a pretty girl," the mirror told her in midair.

Cho smiled. It had told her that countless times, but today it reminded her of the first night in Hogwarts more than ever before, and a torrent of memories attacked her. Some were happy, some were sad, some were tragic – but they were all past. Now her future awaited her, and she was ready for it.

Her smile growing bigger, Cho didn't feel her wand slipping from her fingers, and with it the spell breaking as well. The next thing she felt was a sharp pain in her throat, and looking down she saw millions of little pieces of silvered glass.

Breaking a mirror would be seven years of bad luck.

_I will survive it_, she smiled, sliding to the floor and choking on her own blood.

Cho Chang escaped those seven years of bad luck.

_**The End. **_


	3. Colin Creevey

**Warning: **The following chapter might be confusing as hell. If you still choose to read it but don't get it, ask for an explanation in your review. :)

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**Disclaimer: **Don't own them, just do horrible things to them.

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**Of Glorious Lives and Obituaries**

_**Of Photos and Hiking**_

"Watch out, Colin!" his girlfriend screamed in horror. He stopped walking and looked. Looked straight into 300 feet of thin air and to the rocky bottom beneath that.

He gulped in shock and fell to the ground as his legs suddenly gave way. Besides, it was much safer to sit there than stand. He turned his head slowly and peeked down the steep precipice that had almost been his doom, had he taken another step backwards. So that's why it was important to look where you were going, he realized.

"You stupid idiot!" a figure smacked into him full force, almost kicking them both over the edge.

He opened his mouth to say something, anything, but then his lips were already covered with another pair, and there was no need for words.

"Emily," he sighed into her hair when she refused to let go of him.

"Be careful," she whispered back. "I don't want to lose you over some stupid photo."

"You won't," he shushed her.

They were hiking in the mountains, one of her favourite pastimes, and taking photos, one of his. He preferred capturing people on the film to birds and pretty flowers, but as a photographer for the Daily Prophet he was able to do enough of that at his job.

She did let him go in the end, but instead of continuing their trip, she insisted on staying at the spot.

"Let's just sit here and look around," she told him. "The view is simply breathtaking."

She was right, of course, and he took a few shots of their surroundings for her – she loved nature photos – and a couple of photos of her for himself – she was beautiful, and he loved her.

"It's peaceful out here, isn't it?" she smiled, and he nodded.

After a while, she stood up and brought her hand above her eyes to get a better look at something.

"What do you see?" he inquired.

"People," she answered, and pointed. "Down there. Muggles."

Colin looked, and indeed there were people down there.

"Hey, they're waving to us," Emily exclaimed, and waved back, while he took a few photos of their co-hikers.

They stayed there until sunset. She said it was amazing. He said she was amazing. She smiled, and kissed him, and they started their way down.

It would have been so much easier to Apparate, but with the Muggles around they didn't dare. Besides, she insisted they did it the correct way. As a Muggleborn, her family had often taken her hiking in her childhood, and it was a tradition she wasn't going to let go.

She was still upset about him almost falling and held on to him all the time, even though he reassured her that everything was all right, and nothing was going to happen to either of them.

It was the last hill before the plain where they stopped for a momentary rest. The darkness surrounded them from all sides, and Colin lighted his wand.

The moment he did it, however, a loud bang sounded from somewhere to their right, and everything went dark.

"Get the camera," someone shouted, while another voice asked,

"What do we do with the girl?"

"Kill her," was the last thing Colin Creevey heard before everything faded away.

_**The End.**_


	4. Charlie Weasley

**Disclaimer: **Ah, I wish I did have Charlie. Too bad I don't. **  
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**Of Glorious Lives and Obituaries**

**Of Dragons and Loneliness**

He was lonely, and so was she. They were both lonely. So it was no surprise they spent a lot of time together.

Her name was Ardea, and she was a beauty. His name was Charlie, and he wasn't that bad either. The beautiful friendship between them would have surely developed into something more, had the circumstances been a tad different.

"You're lonely, girl, aren't you?" he asked her, just like always. She opened her mouth in answer and let out a stream of white fire, which he dodged with the nonchalance of a person who has done it for years.

"You don't appreciate me telling you this, do you?" he remarked wryly, and stepped away from another beam of flames.

He had been lonely for many years but until recently it hadn't bothered him. He loved his job, his colleagues were great people, and he had had his fair share of girlfriends as well.

But lately things had changed, without them actually changing. During the day, he was fine. He did his job, he had lunch with his co-workers, and everything was normal. But then he went home to his little apartment, had dinner alone, spent the rest of the evening alone, and went to bed alone.

And what had felt a great sense of privacy and freedom before, was now nothing but pure loneliness.

Which was the reason he was not in his lonely apartment at the moment, staring into the lonely flames at the fireplace, or sleeping in his lonely bed.

It was a passing stage, he was sure of it. Sooner or later he would either find someone to share his life with, or simply get over it.

"And so will you, girl," he told her, and she breathed a fine burning pillar into the night sky.

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The next day Ardea was gone. She had broken free of all the chains and charms that had restrained her, and flown away.

"She was lonely," Melinda said in a way of explanation, getting his attention by speaking his exact thoughts.

"Went to get herself a husband," she smiled, and he suddenly saw his long time colleague in a completely different light.

"We have to bring her back."

"Yes," Melinda concurred. "She is not safe on her own."

Their search for Ardea took days, and during that time Charlie and Melinda had to work together a lot. He had known her for years now, but during their nights spent over a map marking down all the place she could have flown to, and during their days of looking over all such places, he learned many things about her he hadn't known before, and came to appreciate her company a lot.

Their fifth day took them to a place called the Dragon Caves.

"There are no dragons here anymore," she said.

"Let's hope there is at least one," he spoke, trying to cheer her up.

And she did smile at him.

"You take that cave, and I'll take this one," he told her. "And remember, if you do find her, don't try to Stupefy her or anything, it just gets her angry, and one spell is not enough to get her down. Make sure she is all right, then get out, and charm the cave's opening to keep her inside. Again, one spell is not strong enough to restrain her for good, but it should hold till the rest of the team gets here."

Melinda rolled her eyes.

"I know the procedure, Charlie. I have worked here almost as long as you have, in case you haven't noticed."

"I know you know it," he said quickly, his ears turning slightly pink. "Just be careful."

"You too, Char."

He watched her proceed up the rocky hill towards the cave, and had an urge to follow and make sure she would be all right. But he didn't want her to think that he considered her incapable of doing her job, which he certainly didn't.

Still, he called after her.

"Ellie!"

She stopped and turned, giving him a questioning look.

"Go out with me tonight?" All right, perhaps not very suave, but she had once said something about liking straightforwardness, and he dearly hoped she had meant it.

Melinda stood in silence for a second, whether contemplating her answer or trying to find the best way to let him down, he didn't know. But in the end she smiled, and that was a good sign.

"I'd love to," she said, and continued her way.

In a much better mood, Charlie went into the other cave.

It was deep and dark, but he noticed a spark of light at its far end. Carefully moving closer, he soon found the object of their search.

"Here you are, girl," he sighed in relief. "You got us rather worried, you know."

Ardea's answer was fire, which he sidestepped with ease.

"You don't want to come back? I understand it, girl, but you should. It's dangerous for you to be on your own – you are not ready for an outside life yet."

Another beam, and yet another. She was unusually aggressive.

"What's wrong, girl, are you hurt?" he asked in concern.

She didn't seem to be, but clearly there was something that made her angry, or nervous.

"Still lonely?" he ventured. "Don't worry, I'm sure there is a nice lad waiting for you back at home. Someone you have known for years, but never realized that you would be perfect for each other."

But it was obvious she wanted him to leave her alone, and knowing what she was capable of, he made his retreat.

He had taken but a couple of steps backwards when white oblivion washed over him, and the last thought in Charlie Weasley's mind was that just like him, Ardea had found someone to banish her loneliness.

**The End.**

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**Note: **Aww, this was sad. I didn't want to kill Charlie, but my beta demanded. So blame it all on her. (devilish grin).

Ardea comes from the Latin word 'ardere', which means 'burn' and 'be in love'. Very suitable, me thinks.

And now, as always, **REVIEW**


	5. Neville Longbottom

**Note: **I'm changing the status of this story to complete; not because this is the last chapter, but because each chapter is an independent story and that way it's always complete. :)**  
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**Disclaimer: **I do own some milk and herbs, but not Neville.

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**Of Glorious Lives and Obituaries**

**Of Milk and Herbs**

He had become a world famous Herbologist after his first shocking discovery, and all the others that followed. But that first one had opened him the door into the society where he had always wanted to belong. Not the rich, not the handsome, not the powerful. But those who studied herbs and plants, and made an art out of their study, adding to the progress of other research areas or helping people with their discoveries. The bunch of them were unremarkable, quiet, and awkward, at least with any outsiders. But once together with another of their kind, uncomfortable silence became conversation, conversation became debate, debate became argument, and argument became yelling. A bunch of ferocious people they were, the Herbologists.

His first discovery had been so shocking and so ridiculous that initially he had been laughed out for it. But then he had proved it, explained it, and showed it. And written lengthy essays and speeches on the topic, presenting them to everyone who cared to listen, and to some who thought they had much better things to do. But as it came out, they didn't, and this shocking ridiculous discovery gave him respect and recognition, after their laughs had been laughed, and they were ready to listen, and see, and be shocked.

He liked milk. But that was not the discovery, although it had helped. He liked Victoria. But that was not the discovery either, although it had helped. Victoria didn't like him, even though he took great care of her. And that wasn't the discovery either, although it had helped as well. Victoria didn't like milk. That was the discovery.

Thanks to his love for milk and his clumsiness, he had once dropped a bottle of it. Thanks to his love for Victoria, he had discovered that Devil's Snare was afraid of milk, and avoided it at all costs.

What kind of person kept a pet Devil's Snare named Victoria? The quiet awkward unremarkable Herbologists. Although some preferred Venomous Tentacula or other highly dangerous species.

And who would have thought that something as ordinary and harmless as milk was the best protection one could have from a Devil's Snare? Nobody, until he made it public.

But as wonderful and ferocious as their debates were, and as wonderful and surprising as it was to deliver speeches to hundreds of interested people, speaking with a confidence he never knew he had, and hearing their thunderous applause afterwards, he didn't let himself forget where it had all started, and who he had to thank for it.

The two-week convention had been wonderful and highly educational, but he missed home, and he missed Victoria. She was the first he ran to as soon as he got back, grabbing the bottle of milk, and touching her tendrils in affection. She answered to his caress, winding her vines around his neck and giving a warm squeeze. He had expected this, and raised the bottle of milk to spray some of it at her; not too much to hurt her, but enough to make her loosen her grasp.

A moment later Neville Longbottom realized the error in his ways of leaving the milk out in the warm room for a whole fortnight. There was more of it in the fridge, and he had brought some fresh with him, but he never made it back into the kitchen.

**The End.**


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